A common understanding between the Foreign
Ministry and the private sector in the field of economic diplomacy
should be created.

The Foreign Ministry officials’ commuter traffic to the Chamber of Commerce
shows that the alarm has been sounded about the economic situation in Iran.
Today, the economic conditions are more complex than expected. The president
of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA)
who hosted Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the hurdles thrown in
the way of Iran’s financial and banking communications with the world would
not easily be removed. Nonetheless, they believe that under the current
economic crisis in the country, strong and powerful diplomacy can facilitate
the conditions for economic activists to cope with the sanctions. Thus, the
foreign minister for the third time joined the meeting of private sector
activists and was treated as the special guest of the first joint conference
of ICCIMA and ambassadors and heads of missions of Iran. At the meeting,
Gholam Hossein Shafei, ICCIMA President, noting that economic diplomacy is
an effective instrument for presence in global markets, made three
proposals: Establishment of joint committee between the ICCIMA experts and
representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to train the top forces
to advance international negotiations; preparation of the ground for
concluding preferential trade and free trade agreements between Iran and
target countries; and the focus of economic diplomacy on trade and
investment.

Addressing the forum, Zarif said: “We at the Foreign Ministry and our
overseas missions are obliged to help you private sector activists. In my
opinion, we must help you export more and have more opportunities to advance
your goals. Of course, in this field, we need innovation and creativity in
order to use the opportunities that come about.”

The reality is that the hurdles thrown in the way of Iran’s
financial and banking ties with the world cannot easily be resolved,
so we should think about ways to offset US sanctions.

Zarif also argued that the United States was addicted to imposing sanctions,
saying: “We can show the Americans that they have to quit their addiction.”

Subsequent to this meeting, private sector activists, in the form of 51
working groups, aimed at addressing trade issues with 51 target countries,
including banking issues and money transfer, insurance, customs and
transportation issues, activities of small and medium-sized enterprises,
participation in trade fairs and conferences, resolving trade disputes
between businessmen and existing potentials for concluding preferential
trade and free trade agreements.

America Is Addicted to Sanctions

Emphasizing that the Americans are addicted to sanctions, the foreign
minister said: “The world has come to the conclusion that the United States
should quit its addiction to the sanctions. We can also show Americans that
they ought to quit their addiction.”
Pointing to the gap between the United States and Europe in various areas,
including economy, Zarif noted: “I am not naive to say that we can pit the
US and Europe against one another. But there is a gap between them that we
must use. So we do not need to act as a bridge for their division.”

The top diplomat emphasized: “We should not force the world to choose
between us and economic pressure. Instead, there are some ways we can use
the special features that are provided to us in this area.” According to
Zarif, these special features may be a special opportunity to pay attention
to. For example, interacting with small and medium-sized European companies
is an opportunity that should be used because it can help the private
sector’s dynamism.

Let’s Turn the Pressure to More Non-oil Exports!

Zarif added: “Given that the world is on our side, we can improve the
situation every day. Therefore, all the forces of the country are united and
coherent in order to be able to overcome the critical present-day situation.
In this regard, private sector cooperation is needed more than ever. We can
turn the pressure on us to increasing national production and raising
non-oil exports, and show the Americans that they should quit their
addiction.”

He said: “Despite US pressures we are a country enjoying security. But
unfortunately the security and legitimacy of our neighboring countries
depend on the outside; we are saddened to hear a newly empowered president,
addressing our neighboring countries says if we do not support you for two
weeks, you would not survive!”

Government Involvement Not Favored

“Our task and that of the government as a whole is not to get involved in
the economy but to facilitate your activity in the field,” said Dr. Zarif,
stressing that the joint seminar of ambassadors and private sector activists
was a good idea. He hoped that during the conference, stronger cooperation
will be forged between the Foreign Ministry and private sector activists.

He said a common understanding between the Foreign Ministry and the private
sector in the field of economic diplomacy should be created. He added,
“There will certainly be two-way communication between the private sector
and the diplomatic apparatus. On the one hand, you need information from our
missions abroad as well as their help to advance their businesses in the
field of economy and commerce. On the other hand, we need you to let us know
what can be done, what we need, and where it is possible to forge
competition or have relative advantage for rivalry. These are the areas
where we always need your cooperation.”

They Have Targeted Our Market

The ICCIMA president also said the aim of holding the meeting is primarily
to provide an opportunity for the private sector to interact with Iran’s
ambassadors so that the problems can be directly expressed and this could
lead to straightforward solutions in face to face talks.

He stated: “Only through collaborative efforts we can overcome the problems;
corporatism will not have any consequences except collective losses at a
time that our existence is under threats.”

Shafei pointed to the current state of the economy from the perspective of
the private sector and said the withdrawal of the United States from the
JCPOA has placed Iran in a new economic and political environment and
Trump’s abrogation of the JCPOA has raised the question as to how close are
we getting to the pre-JCPOA era.

He added: “In this regard, the European Union and other JCPOA partners play
an important role in preventing Washington from imposing comprehensive
sanctions on Iran and thus greatly affect the US withdrawal from the JCPOA.”

Banking Complications Continue

Shafei noted: “The reality is that the hurdles thrown in the way of Iran’s
financial and banking ties with the world cannot easily be resolved, so we
should think about ways to offset US sanctions. To this end we should use
bilateral monetary treaties and the financial space of friendly countries to
the extent that we can trust them.” He added that the ban on the supply of
steel, basic metals and petrochemicals seems to be difficult because of the
dispersal of vendors and the presence of private sector activists. “The
experience of previous sanctions shows that it is largely impossible to ban
this group of industries.” He said that the
consequences of the sale of steel, basic metals and petrochemical products
would emerge in the form of extra costs for exporters. It should be noted
that most Iranian exporters who are currently deprived of banking facilities
and had the same problem in post-JCPOA era have been able to do their
business.
He added: Given the timing of the sanctions, it can be hoped that non-oil
exports would not decline sharply, although judging the long-term effects of
the sanctions requires time passage.

We Need Strong Diplomacy

Shafei stated that one of the achievements of the Rouhani government was to
enter the economic diplomacy, adding that this issue was for the first time
included in the structure of the ministry and began to work under a deputy
minister.

He said
economic diplomacy was raised in the 90s, especially on the eve of the
Uruguay Round negotiations, and particularly between the developing
countries and emerging economies. This is a highly efficient tool which
ensures the participation of developing countries in global markets and
benefiting from global resources. “The important thing about economic
diplomacy is that all the economic activities of the government should be
organized in the service of the private sector activists,” Shafei said.
The ICCIMA president said: “Economic diplomacy combines the concept of
government and the market, meaning that diplomacy is the responsibility of
the state and the market is the main symbol of the economy that is managed
by private sector activists. Thus, the government provides space through
diplomacy tools for the private sector to exploit the world’s economic
potentials.”